Scouting Notebook: Goff Gains an Edge, WR Stocks Falling, Michael Thomas Q&A

[Mackeyser]

Yea, I don't buy into all these shadow games that people think go on. And Matt Miller isn't the guy you go to if you want to disseminate misinformation.

So GMs, FO people and scouts are for the most part mum and most of this stuff is made up from whole cloth?

Yeah, we already KNOW that's not true because everyone has talked for years about how this communication has gone.

Sorry, jrry, but while I appreciate healthy skepticism, it's too easy for a guy to lose his entire career posting falsified stuff. Imagine if a fabricated post cost a team a super coveted guy.

Occam's razor is pretty clear on this one. Everyone's talking and BS'ing (so much so that they call it the silly season) like they have for decades...OR...Everyone (cuz it can't just be Miller, that's not logical) is posting pure fabrication and has for decades and somehow there's been not one damaging incident or one guy didn't guess right and get in trouble or cost a team their guy.

If you think about it, what your thinking just doesn't pass the smell test for what has actually been happening for decades.

 

[tavian]

I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it up. But if he doesn't, I think he's dishonest about the sources he has. I don't believe for a second NFL GMs are calling up Matt Miller to tell him what they're thinking.

Calling complete bullshit on your post jrry32.Matt was the secondary and special teams coordinator for the three-time league champion Joplin Crusaders . So you can bet your sweet ass all the GM's call him to pick his brain from time to time.Geesh!! Dont you know nothin?


Matt Miller Bio
Bleacher Report's NFL Draft Lead Writer, Matt's work has been featured in the last three Madden video games, on ESPN, SiriusXM, NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, SI.com and USA Today as well as utilized by NFL, CFL and AFL teams. Matt was the secondary and special teams coordinator for the three-time league champion Joplin Crusaders of the Central Football League. Matt is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.

 

[jrry32]

So GMs, FO people and scouts are for the most part mum and most of this stuff is made up from whole cloth?

Yeah, we already KNOW that's not true because everyone has talked for years about how this communication has gone.

Sorry, jrry, but while I appreciate healthy skepticism, it's too easy for a guy to lose his entire career posting falsified stuff. Imagine if a fabricated post cost a team a super coveted guy.

Occam's razor is pretty clear on this one. Everyone's talking and BS'ing (so much so that they call it the silly season) like they have for decades...OR...Everyone (cuz it can't just be Miller, that's not logical) is posting pure fabrication and has for decades and somehow there's been not one damaging incident or one guy didn't guess right and get in trouble or cost a team their guy.

If you think about it, what your thinking just doesn't pass the smell test for what has actually been happening for decades.

I think things are a lot more out in the open than people realize. It's why teams generally have a good feeling for who other teams will draft. Look at Bob McGinn and his sources. That's a guy with legit sources. There are a few other writers with legit sources.(Daniel Jeremiah is another)

And yes, there are some writers who I think BS about the sources they have. They either make it up or they inflate the significance of the sources they do have.

It's easy for a guy to lose his career posting falsified stuff? Who is going to catch him?

And no offense but I'd say Occam's razor doesn't support your argument. Which theory sounds simpler...that NFL teams are going to elaborate lengths to trick other teams while calling up nobodies in the media like Matt Miller or Matt Miller is being disingenuous about the sources he has? Sorry but the latter seems like a much simpler explanation to me.

What you don't seem to be getting is that I'm not saying everything is made and NFL teams are doing an amazing job of guarding their information. I'm saying that certain "journalists" are bullshitting about the sources that they actually have because there's nobody to hold them accountable.

 

[jrry32]

I thought it was the other way around. The reporters call the scouts and GMs and such. If they are telling things to Mayock why not Miller. Who is mayock really to them? Or even Glazer for that matter. I always figured that these reporters are paying scouts and such to give them news. Why else would they do it?

Does it really change if it's Miller doing the calling? Why, as a GM, would you talk to Miller? Mayock, at least, has a national platform and what he says gets attention. If you're spreading misinformation, why use a guy like Miller? Who believes him?

I don't doubt that Miller might have some ins with lower level guys but I do doubt he's got ins with the high level guys.

 

[Akrasian]

Does it really change if it's Miller doing the calling? Why, as a GM, would you talk to Miller? Mayock, at least, has a national platform and what he says gets attention. If you're spreading misinformation, why use a guy like Miller? Who believes him?

I don't doubt that Miller might have some ins with lower level guys but I do doubt he's got ins with the high level guys.

Not that I necessarily believe that front offices routinely spread disinformation - not much point to it, really. But if they were inclined for some reason, you wouldn't necessarily want to use somebody like Mayock, at least normally. If you tell a lie to a major guy like that, then he would never spread your gossip again. But give a guy who needs insider info like Miller a few true but relatively harmless leaks, and then give him a bald faced lie - and he's still ahead.

Besides, if I really wanted people to believe a lie - I would start off with a leak to a low level guy, and then have it corroborated later on by leaks to one or two other media types.

 

[jrry32]

Not that I necessarily believe that front offices routinely spread disinformation - not much point to it, really. But if they were inclined for some reason, you wouldn't necessarily want to use somebody like Mayock, at least normally. If you tell a lie to a major guy like that, then he would never spread your gossip again. But give a guy who needs insider info like Miller a few true but relatively harmless leaks, and then give him a bald faced lie - and he's still ahead.

Besides, if I really wanted people to believe a lie - I would start off with a leak to a low level guy, and then have it corroborated later on by leaks to one or two other media types.

Mayock is a member of the media. He's going to use the information he has.

Again, what NFL team is going to be reading what Matt Miller has to say? He's not a guy I pay any attention to as a fan. Not sure why a NFL team would.

 

[Akrasian]

Mayock is a member of the media. He's going to use the information he has.

Again, what NFL team is going to be reading what Matt Miller has to say? He's not a guy I pay any attention to as a fan. Not sure why a NFL team would.

Mayock is in a position to be more fussy about his sources - and he has more to lose by being lied to. Within the world of reporting on the NFL draft, he's one of the top two guys. Reporting too many false rumors would cost him big time, while Miller needs what connections he can get to survive in the industry.

And I don't think false rumors are pointed at industry insiders, but fans, to soften them up for moves that might be viewed negatively.

Which is why I doubt that disinformation is routinely spread - not enough return.

 

[jrry32]

Mayock is in a position to be more fussy about his sources - and he has more to lose by being lied to. Within the world of reporting on the NFL draft, he's one of the top two guys. Reporting too many false rumors would cost him big time, while Miller needs what connections he can get to survive in the industry.

And I don't think false rumors are pointed at industry insiders, but fans, to soften them up for moves that might be viewed negatively.

Which is why I doubt that disinformation is routinely spread - not enough return.

Nobody remembers false rumors.(let's be real, can you remember any over the past few years from Mayock or Kiper? I can't) Frankly, nobody even knows what rumors are false or true unless teams let something slip after the draft.

 

[Mackeyser]

I think things are a lot more out in the open than people realize. It's why teams generally have a good feeling for who other teams will draft. Look at Bob McGinn and his sources. That's a guy with legit sources. There are a few other writers with legit sources.(Daniel Jeremiah is another)

And yes, there are some writers who I think BS about the sources they have. They either make it up or they inflate the significance of the sources they do have.

It's easy for a guy to lose his career posting falsified stuff? Who is going to catch him?

And no offense but I'd say Occam's razor doesn't support your argument. Which theory sounds simpler...that NFL teams are going to elaborate lengths to trick other teams while calling up nobodies in the media like Matt Miller or Matt Miller is being disingenuous about the sources he has? Sorry but the latter seems like a much simpler explanation to me.

What you don't seem to be getting is that I'm not saying everything is made and NFL teams are doing an amazing job of guarding their information. I'm saying that certain "journalists" are bullshitting about the sources that they actually have because there's nobody to hold them accountable.

Sure it does because teams have been doing this exact thing for decades. No one's holding them accountable because they're a part of it...

I mean, sometimes teams outright lie to reporters in order to make something happen (Bradford trade, anyone?) and the reporter will get mad because they got used like a cheap hooker. Other times, like this time between the Combine and the Draft... reporters get used by teams left and right. It just...is.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

If you're spreading misinformation, why use a guy like Miller? Who believes him?

Bleacher report has a much bigger following than you think. If you are on Team Stream you would know that you can list favorite topics like "NFL Draft" and get more than just their stories. That is where I read Millers but they have link's from all over the web. NFL.Com stuff is on there all the time. I have the "Rams": in my favorites and get stories from the dispatch, LA, ESPN. That app has them brining in a lot more readers.

Mayock is a member of the media. He's going to use the information he has.

I thought the narrative was that Mayock is not on NFL network as much because last year he was relying on second hand info and was not happy with the results. So, this year he hit the road again and went to more pro days and such to do his own scouting. Seems like its accurate because he is often on video instead of on set. Now what does that tell you? It could mean that he was being fed wrong, or misleading info from sources that were using him like they do everyone else. Every year the same thing happens and then suddenly very close to the draft or after the draft we find out how wrong the media was about so many of the players.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

The Scout's Report
— Which quarterback will come off the board first? One NFC West team I spoke to—that demanded anonymity—ranks them Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch and then Carson Wentz.

Why oh WHY do I have this super strong feeling that it's the Rams putting this out...

It's Matt Miller. Don't buy into any of it.

I have recently read, critique of both Wentz and Goff about struggling with pressure. Isn't it possible that a team thinks Lynch has the higher ceiling, so they like him better?

When it comes to the little things you can pick anyone apart. One stat showed how low Wentz completion percentage was when pressured, another one criticized Goff for dropping his eyes under pressure. Maybe Lynch is better in these areas. Maybe it was Arizona who said they like Lynch better because Arians thinks he fits his offense better. Or some think Goff has a weak arm. Others think Lynch is the most athletic of the three. There are a lot of ways this could be viewed.

 

[Selassie I]

Misinformation, posturing, and LIES are the theme of the NFL this time of year...